By Liesel Zink
A Betty Amsden Participation Program
In a world increasingly defined by rising geopolitical tension, ecological mismanagement, deteriorating labour conditions and social isolation, Liesel Zink’s Us And All Of This offers a rare moment of calm reflection.
Bringing together 100 local dancers for a large-scale contemporary performance work, the premiere season unfolds across three large plots of urban public space, not in the pursuit of profiteering, but in the pursuit of togetherness and communion.
The work will take place as free un-ticketed public performances across March and April:
Arts Centre Melbourne | Saturday 11 March, 1pm & 4pm
Bunjil Place | Saturday 25 March, 6.15pm & Sunday 26 March, 12:45pm
Geelong Arts Centre - Johnstone Park | Sunday 2 April, 2pm
In collaboration with sound artist Lawrence English and dramaturg Martyn Coutts, Liesel is working with a team of core dance artists at each location to devise and teach a series of choreographic and improvisational scores. The 100 participants, of various ages, ethnicities, genders and body types, will be split into small groups in which they collaborate in a series of four workshops with the lead dancers. The ultimate outcome will be a meditative and sculptural dance piece spanning roughly 45 minutes.
Us And All Of This explores collectively and assembly as the antithesis of exploitation. It rejects the positioning of humans as something separate to the environment and challenges the fast-paced, isolated structure of society. In this way, the performers move not on the landscape, but with the landscape, acknowledging our place as one part of a complex ecology. And for the participants, the experience extends beyond the performance itself into a ritual of coming together.
Us And All Of This forges a space for a diverse collection of people to gather, to learn, and to embody their shared resistance to an atomised way of life.
It is not only a performance but a process; an exercise in the gentle act of shared creation.
What is the Betty Amsden Participation Program?
The Betty Amsden Participation Program started in 2014 and is an annual community event that inspires people from all over Victoria to be involved in a shared creative experience and to tap into their creativity.
These large-scale community events are designed to inspire Victorians and precinct visitors, engage diverse communities, break cultural and economic barriers, inspire civic and public participation, and build community pride.
Learn more about Betty, her legacy and Betty Amsdem Participation Program
Credits
- Creator Liesel Zink
- Dramaturg Martyn Coutts
- Composer Lawrence English
- Community Engagement Manager Cass Fumi
- Assistant Choreographer Joshua Lowe
- Production Manager Bindi Green
- Stage Manager Natasha Marich
- Core Artists (Arts Centre Melbourne) Ngioka Bunda-Heath, Kyall Shanks, Katrina Rank, Guy Ritani
- Core Artists (Bunjil Place) Jenn Ma, Gülsen Özer, Dee Wong, Hithanjanee Yatawara
- Core Artists (Geelong Arts Centre) Jessica Lessosky, Fiona Luca, Ash Skinner
- Local Community Coordinator (Arts Centre Melbourne) Chafia Brooks
- Local Communicty Coordinator (Bunjil Place) Jess Li
- Local Community Coordinator (Geelong Arts Centre) Luisa La Fornara
- Produced by Performing Lines
- Initiated by Arts Centre Melbourne
- Lead Artists (February 2021 Development) Roxanne McDonald, Brian Lucas, Leah Shelton, Hsin-Ju Ely, Joshua Lowe
- Lead Artists (October 2020 Development) Joel Bray, Joshua Lowe, Katina Olsen, Niharika Senapati, Leah Shelton, Ely Hsin-Ju
- Developed with the assistance of Dancers from Yellow Wheel
A Betty Amsden Participation Program
Arts Centre Melbourne presents
Us And All Of This by Liesel Zink
Produced by Performing Lines
Us And All Of This by Liesel Zink has been commissioned by Arts Centre Melbourne through the generous support of the Betty Amsden endowment.
Co-presented with Geelong Arts Centre and Bunjil Place.
Us And All Of This has been developed with support from the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Ausdance Qld, HOTA, Besen Family Foundation and the City of Melbourne.
Co-presented with Geelong Arts Centre and Bunjil Place.
